I was at the checkout line engaging the cashier in casual chitchat about politics and the election season. The cashier insisted that there was a time when politics was a bit more courteous. Then I heard a phrase we all have at some point: “Not in this day and age.”

The implication is that we have lost innocence or a common civility that we had previously. There is also some measure of belief that no one can be trusted. Even the term stranger has a negative consequence.

Call me naive, but I think the vast majority of us are good people. We all have experienced a random kindness, someone telling us we dropped money or left something behind.

On a large scale, the crime rate of our city has dropped to levels not seen in 50 years. Despite a big increase in population and the increasing problems that come with urban areas, we live in a time that is reminiscent of the mythical bygone “day and age” people so casually mention.

This is a nationwide trend. In New York, crime has dropped for over 20 years, with violent crime at 1960s levels. Los Angeles is seeing similar decreases. The list can go on: Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia have all seen various degrees of this.

But let’s be honest; these are just numbers. Personal experiences matter most, and I have been lucky to have enjoyed limitless random kindness from strangers.

One of the most recent examples came after the last piece I wrote for Community Voices. I detailed my struggles getting a professional job after earning a master’s degree.

The morning it ran, I forgot that my column was running that day until I checked my email. I had dozens of notes offering advice, suggestions and leads. These were random strangers who did nothing more than want to help. They, maybe even you, had no knowledge of my existence before and aren’t affected by my struggles in any way. Yet they wanted to help.

Strangers, the ones we are taught to fear as kids, were offering what they could to assist another random stranger. I have no statistical analysis to back this up, but I don’t believe this is unusual.

I have wondered why we perceive things to be so bad, and I think the answer is technology. The endless streaming of news and information may present a world more sinister than actually exists. When an event like the Colorado theater shooting happens, we reinforce the idea that we live in a dangerous “day and age.” However, folks who do good deeds don’t make the news, precisely because it is so common.

For a parent, the fears are magnified. There was a time when kids could walk to school or the convenience store. Honestly, giving kids freedom, even freedoms that we had growing up, is scary for a parent.

The JonBenet Ramseys and Elizabeth Smarts are the exceptions, and therefore newsworthy. Thankfully, they aren’t the rule. I just don’t believe there are nefarious people at every street corner looking to take advantage of some unsuspecting victim.

So next time you hear someone say “not in today’s day and age” or feel the urge to think the world is out to get you or think the past is more golden than now, I hope you pause and think. Maybe, just maybe, things aren’t so bad.

J Branden Helms of Dallas is a Community Voices volunteer columnist. His email address is coachbranden@yahoo.com. This holiday weekend, we are tracking the good deeds being done in North Texas on Twitter and Instagram using #DallasGives.